What Happens in Brooklyn
by emmaaproctorr
Summary: Dan doesn't show for Blair's second engagement party, Blair demands answers. And other events
1. Chapter 1

When looking back two, three years ago it was hard for her to believe that walking up the stairs in this building would become familiar to her, and even harder for her to believe it was comforting. When knocking on the big, rusty door, the sound that echoed reminded her of the other times that she had done so; whether it was manipulating Rufus because of Jenny or coming up with a scheme or it was because she needed a friend, strangely this place held a lot a memories. And it was odd that Blair Waldorf could ever feel this way about something in Brooklyn.  
>But Blair wasn't here to order a pizza and watch a movie, this time Blair was annoyed with him. He answered the door in one of many plaid shirts and cut offs due to the temperature. His face was a mixture of shock and happiness, but the main expression was fear.<br>"B-Blair. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at-"  
>"My engagement party? Correct Humphrey" she sneered as she shoved past him into the loft. "Where were you tonight?"<br>"Here. Doing some writing" he gestured to his laptop. "Even though that's probably a bad idea with the whole Inside thing, I was just inspired-"  
>"I don't care for your chit chat now Humphrey, why didn't you go?"<br>"To your party?" Dan questioned to which Blair rolled her eyes. "I... I don't know" was all he could think of.  
>"You don't know? You don't know? You knew how much I was dreading this party. You know how Louis' family has been giving me a hard time, especially his sister. You knew how much I needed you there so we could debate concepts behind films and plan our next museum dates. You know, do the Humphrey-Waldorf thing" she sighed as she sat onto the stool.<br>He immediately felt bad. "But you had Serena there and-"  
>"Serena!" She laughed sarcastically. She stood up back off the stool as if she were to leave. "Serena wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about, and she would be distracted by any good looking male there-" Dan was about to interrupt but her flared nostrils stopped him. "And before you say anything, Nate wouldn't have a clue either. Nor would Chuck" he cringed at the name. "Nor would anybody else in the room. And you didn't turn up to my engagement party!"<br>"Hey, I turned up to your first one and you didn't say a word to me. You were talking to Serena and I went over to the both of you and you could not have ducked away fast enough!"  
>"I had business to attend to!" she heard her voice raise, sudden anger inside her that now matched Dan's burning distaste.<br>"Oh sorry, I forgot that Blair Waldorf always has business to attend to. What if tonight you also had business to attend to and you just left me? Face it Waldorf, you use me"  
>"Use you? How dare you insinuate that I use you! First of all I would never use someone from <em>Brooklyn<em>-"  
>"Oh yeah 'cause Brooklyn is so terrible. I live in squalor" he spat. "Why do you think I'm dirt because I live on the opposite side of the bridge?"<br>"First of all, don't interrupt me again Humphrey. And why do I think that? You're wrong again. I _used_ to think that about you but you changed my mind, hence what I was about to say when you accused _me_ of using _you_. But you know what? You're just as arrogant, judgmental and self-absorbed as the people born and bred in the Upper East Side!" she yelled back at him. "And just for the record, I didn't use you. It takes all of me to say this, especially as it could be classed as a compliment which is something I don't do often, I enjoyed your company and I assumed you enjoyed mine too" he looked down at his shoes and then stared her in the eye, all of his anger from before dissolving. "But clearly my judgment was wrong" and she turned to open the door when she felt his hand on her arm. "What Humphrey?" and he didn't reply, just held tightly onto her arm.  
>She turned around to look at him in the eye and all of her misplaced anger faded away. Trying to act like she couldn't feel it, the connection between the two, she broke off the eye contact and lifted her chin up. "What do you want Humphrey?" she asked again and his grip became tighter.<br>"You" was all he said as he couldn't fight it any longer. He couldn't fight his desire, his want, his need for Blair Waldorf.  
>This response made Blair smile. A small sheepish smile that she quickly got under control and tried to keep a straight face but she realised she was happy to hear that Dan <em>Humphrey<em> from _Brooklyn_ wanted her. But she couldn't dare want him back, could she?  
>She shrugged off his grip. "I have to go" she whispered and left the loft, leaving Dan silent. She was about to descend the stairs when she stopped. Did she really want Dan Humphrey? No, surely not. She was about to become a princess. A princess! She was engaged to a real life Prince! She looked at the Harry Winston on her finger and just stared at it, contemplating every decision made that led to that ring being on her finger. Without thinking she pulled off the ring and she felt a sense of release, a sense of freedom. She was almost twenty one years old, she wasn't old enough to get into a marriage. She placed the ring on the window sill and was about to descend the stairs when something stopped her. She sat on the step, alone, wondering what to do next.<p>

It must've been about half an hour later when someone else was coming up the stairs, forcing Blair to straighten up. It was just a pizza delivery guy but her face was all over the newspapers and he must've known who she was.  
>"Yo, aren't you the bird marrying that Prince?" he asked. Blair was left dumbfounded, first of all being addressed by "yo" and also being called "bird".<br>"Yes I am" was all she could say. "Is that pizza for Dan Humphrey?" she asked him. He got out a piece of paper with details of his delivery.  
>"Erm, large gourmet pizza for a Mr. Dan Humphrey" and she smiled at the fact he ordered gourmet. At least she changed his taste for pizza.<br>"Do you mind if I deliver it to him?"  
>"Erm, alright. But I need him to give me the money..." he looked confused as a future princess got her purse out and gave him a fifty.<br>"Sorry, that's all I have. Just keep the change" she smiled and he handed the pizza box to her with a confused expression on his face.  
>"Alright... See ya I guess..." and he walked down the stairs to get back on his delivery bike.<br>The smell of the pizza was mouthwatering and she was starving. She sat on the step and quickly had a slice. Once finished she closed the box and walked over to his door and knocked for the second time tonight.  
>He opened the door, looking down at his wallet counting how much he had. "How much is it?" he asked, hoping a twenty would do.<br>"Free" she answered and he looked up at her. She once again pushed past him and put it on the counter. He gathered his thoughts but her lips pressed onto his before he could say any of them.  
>They moved in sync as they embraced. His hand instinctively moved into her hair and it reminded him of the first time they kissed, the moment when he realised he was "ass backwards crushing on Blair Waldorf" as Eric had phrased it.<br>Blair was the one to stop, as she was on the other two occasions. She smiled as she looked into his deep brown eyes and he smiled back.  
>"Waldorf" he laughed. "Did you eat a slice of my pizza?"<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't do this anymore" she declared and watched his face show how heartbroken that statement made him.  
>"Why? This summer we were so happy..." he pleaded.<br>"No we weren't. You may have been but I wasn't. I tried to pretend I was. I mean after all I was living a fairytale. Literally. But being alone whilst you attended to matters of the state, being criticised over everything, dealing with your sister!" Louis laughed nervously. "All of which made me realise I was unhappy. I'm sorry" she held his hand to her heart. "I really did love you"  
>"I really did love you too Blair" Louis smiled to keep back the tears. "I still do"<br>"I know" Blair smiled. She put her ring in his hand and kept a hold of it, of him. Louis took his hand back and turned to leave. He gazed back once at her door and he couldn't fight the tears any longer. He turned quickly and left Blair standing there wondering if what she was doing was the right thing.

"Morning Waldorf" Dan said cheerfully as Blair opened the door to the loft.  
>"How did you know it was me?" she asked whilst taking off her cardigan. Today was really hot.<br>"Oh, who else could it be entering my house at" he checked his watch. "7.32 in the morning?"  
>"Oh Humphrey, I'd hardly call this a house" she quipped and went to sit on a stool whilst Dan made waffles. She grabbed the copy of The New York Times that was lying on the side.<br>"There is a page with the corner folded" he said as he poured coffee for the both of them. "There's an exhibit at MET so I thought we could finish our breakfast and then go?" he handed her the larger cup of coffee as she read the article that Dan had suggested.  
>"It finishes today?" Blair asked nervously. "Then I can't"<br>"Waldorf, you are allowed to go out in the open after calling it off with the prince. You are allowed to continue day to day things-"  
>"Oh Humphrey you don't understand. I'm still being pictured. What if there's a picture of us hanging out and Louis sees? He'll accuse me of leaving him for you" she flicked through the magazine to see if there were any other events happening soon.<br>Dan sighed. "Because you didn't do that. We're just friends" he said sarcastically.  
>"I wouldn't go that far" she smiled at him as he mocked a hurt expression. He continued to drink his coffee.<br>"You were the one to kiss me Waldorf" he smirked. "On all three occasions actually" and this time he laughed at her facial expression. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument, the one about going out and also the whole friends situation so he decided to let her win. "Okay then, day of movies?"  
>"Sounds perfect" and she wandered over to his DVD collection like she owned the place which made Dan laugh to himself. He would never tire of seeing Blair wandering his loft.<br>"Blair" he question as she was flicking through the H's of his collection.  
>"Yes Humphrey?" she continued looking to find a movie. "You know Humphrey, you really should rearrange these into genres. I fancy a foreign language movie yet I'm undecided as to which one and sometimes alphabetised isn't helpful-"<br>"Will you go on a date with me?" he blurted out, interrupting her criticising his method of organisation. She sighed.  
>"Humphrey, have you not heard what I just said? Hence the reason we're watching a movie?" she turned back to his collection, trying to figure out what she wanted.<br>"It can be here at the loft, nobody will see us-"  
>"Okay Humphrey. Now stop with your chit chat and get the popcorn ready. I've chosen us the movie"<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

"Dude" Nate announced as he walked into his loft looking around dumbfounded. "I never knew you felt this way about me" he smirked.  
>Dan came rushing out of the bathroom with his stubble half shaven. "Nate!"<br>"Man, good look you've got going on there" he pointed at his chin. "But seriously, what is this?"  
>The loft had been transformed. Furniture was pushed aside except for the dinner table which was laid out perfectly and with a bottle of Caviar resting in the ice cooler. Lilies and hydrangeas were also scattered about, as were candles, an assortment of different scented candles.<br>Dan realised in that moment he hadn't told Nate about Blair before. He saw the blast on Gossip Girl but it was Blair who explained it to him.  
>"I... err... I've got a date" Dan said nervously and he ducked into the bathroom to finish off the job.<br>"You planned a date when you know you play football with me on Tuesdays?" Nate pretended to be offended. "Dude, I'm hurt. Unless this is all for me..." and he flashed Dan his Archibald smile.  
>"No" Dan said bluntly. "Actually this is for... Blair"<br>"Blair?" he laughed. "Woah, did not see this coming"  
>"Yeah well neither did I" he said in between shaves. But I like her Nate" he turned to look his friend in the eye. "I really do"<br>"Well it's not like I can blame you, I have dated her" Nate sat on one of the dining chairs as Dan just finished shaving. "But she's complicated. Like seriously. With the whole Chuck thing and her just finishing with that Prince dude..." he looked up at Dan's curious eyes. "She's just complicated"  
>"I know" Dan sighed. "I know. But she's also amazing. She's amazingly smart and she's amazingly funny and, well, she's amazingly beautiful" Nate smirked as Dan started going on about his feelings. "What?"<br>"I just can't believe I'm hearing this. You two used to hate each other!"  
>"It's as much of a shock to me as it is to you man. It started over Christmas; we were the only ones in New York and we both had plans to go see Nénette. And then we'd bump into each other, we'd chat, bicker, say goodbye. Soon enough we made plans to do so and then yeah... We have more in common than I thought" he smiled, thinking back at their memories. Nate laughed at his friend, finding the whole idea unbelievable.<br>"Well if you're happy dude, then I'm happy. I'd better go then, you know what they say 'three's a crowd'" Nate slung his football bag over his shoulder. "Good luck man"

Blair wasn't wearing anything fancy unlike her dates with the Prince nor was she wearing kinky underwear unlike her dates with Chuck. The weather was still hot so she decided on a simple floral dress and flats, her hair wavy and her make-up simple.  
>She arrived at the loft at exactly 5 o'clock. She knocked loudly but got no answer. <em>God sake Humphrey<em> she thought. _I don't like to be kept waiting_. She knocked again and still got no answer. This time she knocked harder and she realised the door was open. She entered the loft and looked round bewildered. "Dan?"  
>The loft was full of candles and flowers, her favourites. The smell that greeted her were the incense from the candles infused with whatever meal he was cooking. Still no sign of him, she passed the perfectly laid table and entered his room. She noticed the window to the roof was open. Carefully she climbed through and saw him sitting on a chair, drinking a beer and looking at Manhattan.<br>"Humphrey" she said sharply making Dan's head turn to look at her. "I just _climbed_ through a _window_" she said with disgust. Dan laughed nervously as she stared at her. She looked beautiful.  
>"Sorry... Must've got distracted" he smiled at her and gestured to the chair next to him. She sat down and looked at him as he drunk his beer.<br>"Humphrey you seriously don't expect me to drink beer do you?" she asked, crinkling her nose.  
>"No of course not" he laughed. "You're a snob about street food so I hardly expected you to be a beer drinker" he got up and walked to a table she hadn't noticed. It had a cooler on it as well as the candles and flowers. He got out a bottle of Caviar and showed it to her.<br>"Perfect" she smiled and walked over to him to get herself a glass as he attempted to open the bottle. "Didn't you used to be a cater waiter Humphrey?"  
>"Yes" he said through gritted teeth. "But I've never been good at-" the bottle burst open, completely covering him and Blair with champagne.<br>"Humphrey!" Blair yelled. "Look what you've done!" she gestured to her pale floral dress that had turned see-through. Dan tried to keep his eyes on her face but sometimes it was too hard.  
>"Blair, I'm so sorry" he looked around nervously, hoping to find a solution. "You could just put on something of mine" he suggested and she immediately pulled a disgusted face.<br>"I don't fancy wearing flannel thanks" she spat and she walked back to the window and climbed through. Dan just stood there wondering what she was doing. "Come on Humphrey, show me what I can wear!" she yelled. Dan being the obedient person that he is succumbed to her demands.  
>"Here" he chucked her a tee-shirt.<br>"And what do you expect me to wear with" she held the tee-shirt in front of her as she observed it. "This?"  
>"Oh my God I have no idea" he put his hands through his hair as he stressed. "It's not like you can wear my trousers and you definitely won't wear sweats-"<br>"Damn right Humphrey" she commented. "I know, I'll just wear my dress as a skirt and put this" she again wrinkled her nose. "As a top". Dan nodded and she went to the bathroom to change. Dan took off his shirt and jeans and put them in the hamper. He quickly found some decent jeans in his drawer but he struggled to find a top. He grabbed a plaid shirt as he heard her come out of the bathroom.  
>Blair entered his room just as he was buttoning up his shirt. She felt her cheeks go warm as she saw his torso for the first time. <em>Toned<em>, she thought. _Sporty but not too much... Nice_ she concluded, surprised that Dan Humphrey had a good body. Dan caught her staring.  
>"See something you like Waldorf?" he smirked as he fixed the collar of his shirt.<br>"Don't get ahead of yourself" she quickly retorted. As she breathed in she smelt something. "Dan, not to alarm you or anything but-"  
>"The food's burning!" he panicked as he now smelt was she did. He rushed into the kitchen and got the food out of the oven. "Ow man!" he cried as the meal he planned was now coal.<br>"What a date this is turning out to be" she commented sarcastically and Dan just looked at her. He went to get something else out of the oven and Blair's eyes gleamed. "You made pumpkin pie?"  
>"Yeah it's my favourite" he said as he looked at the pie. "And it's not burned" he smiled as he hasn't ruined <em>everything<em>. "I don't know what to do about the main course" he looked to Blair for suggestions.  
>"Forget the main course" she said, mouth-watering from the smell of the pie. "Let's just have dessert"<br>They went to sit at the table and between the both of them they finished the pie. Blair complimented Dan's cooking skills which made his smile ear to ear. They started to plan museum dates as Blair decided it was okay to be seen out and about. They even planned to go places where she hadn't thought of an exit strategy. No plausible deniability. They made their way out onto the roof again.  
>"Come up here" Dan said and he put his hand on her waist guiding her to the stairs. They both looked each other in the eye, feeling the sparks and chemistry between them. They walked up the stairs in silence.<br>When they were at the stop Blair couldn't believe what she saw. There was a projector and a projector screen. But it wasn't just any projector - it was a vintage one that used to be used in cinemas.  
>"One of the old cinemas is closing around the corner and they were going to throw this out" he gestured to the projector. "I thought it would be a waste so I brought it off them" he over to the projector. "Wasn't much. They also gave me a couple of films for it. And guess what one of them was?" he smiled as her face was still speechless. She went to sit down on the picnic rug he had laid out for them. He showed an old reel of <em>Breakfast at Tiffany's<em> and Blair gleamed at him. He put it in place and went to sit next to her.  
>During the film it got a little chilly from the night breeze and Dan threw a blanket around them. At the beginning they were sitting far apart but by the end of the movie they could not have been closer. She smiled after watching her favourite film and she looked up at him. He felt her eyes on him and looked at her too. Wind blew her hair out of place so he fixed it. The trail where his finger brushed against her cheek burned yet was soothing.<br>Dan kissed her in the moment as he knew he'd regret it if he didn't. She quickly returned his affection. Her fingers ran through his hair and his hands were on her waist. The kiss grew more passionate, more eager and she somehow ended up on top of him. They laughed as they rolled onto the floor but when they realised their faces were so close together, their breath was mingling, the laughter died out as their lips returned to where they belonged. Her fingers intertwined in his hair, stroking his face and the back of his neck. He kissed her jaw, her neck, her collar bone, the top of her breast... she sighed in pleasure. His lips returned to hers and they continued to connect.  
>"Stop" she said. At first he didn't hear her until she pushed him off her.<br>"What?" he asked. "What did I do wrong?" his face concerned.  
>"Nothing" she admitted, fixing herself up. "And that's the problem" Dan looked at her, confused. She went down the rickety stairs and climbed through his window and he quickly followed.<br>"I... I don't understand" he said as she went into the bathroom. She returned how she looked before, in her dress. She threw his top at him.  
>"I have to go" she said, and turned to leave.<br>"No, no. Wait! Blair!" he yelled. "I don't understand!"  
>"This... this can't happen" she spoke in a small voice.<br>"Why?" he pleaded. "We were having fun..." his eyes wide, holding onto her hand, unwilling to let her go.  
>"This shouldn't have happened, I should go" she said unconvincingly.<br>"Why..."  
>"Because" she began, not wanting to finish the sentence. "I'm Upper East Side and you're-"<br>"Brooklyn?" he dropped her hand. "For God sake Blair, get over it!" he yelled.  
>"I- I can't" she admitted.<br>"Why is it so terrible I'm from Brooklyn Blair? Seriously?" she didn't answer, she just stood there. "For God's sake Blair, why are you so superficial? You won't date me because I'm not a Prince? Because I'm not Upper East Side royalty? Because I don't have millions in my bank account? That's ridiculous!" he yelled, frustrated with the situation. "I dated Serena, I'm best friends with Nate, but you still can't accept me? My dad is married to Lily, but I'm still not good enough for you?" she kept silent. "Just go Blair"  
>"Dan, I'm sor-"<br>"Blair I don't want to hear it. Clearly because of my zip code this can't work. Please leave" but she remained where she was, guilt written all over her face. "Fine, I'll leave. I can't be in the same room as you right now" he stormed past her.  
>"Dan!" she cried as he walked away from her. He didn't turn back.<br>She waited half an hour but he didn't show. She took her stuff and closed the loft door. She hailed a cab back to her penthouse and went straight to her room.  
>"Miss Blair" Dorota came in with tea. "Do you want tea?"<br>"Not now Dorota" she said as she took off her clothes and into her silk pyjamas.  
>"Okay Miss Blair" and she left with a worried expression on her face.<p>

"Blair?" she heard her name called. She turned to look at the clock. _2.34am_. She rubbed her eyes and got out of bed. "Blair!" he yelled again.  
>She walked down the stairs wondering where Dorota was where she saw him. He looked tired , like he had been doing a lot of thinking.<br>"Blair" he sighed as he saw her in the foyer.  
>"Chuck"<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

"Blair" he breathed as he saw her. "Looking beautiful as ever" he commented as the sight of her in pyjamas brought back memories.  
>"Chuck, what are you doing here?"<br>"I came to see you, obviously" he gestured to the couch. They both sat there in silence. "I've been thinking Blair. I want us to be together again. We are meant to be Blair" he held her hand. "If anybody is meant to be it's us two. We're soul mates, we're destiny" he tightened his grip on her hand and she just stared at their intertwined fingers. "You must know that, everybody knows that. And I feel like we're just wasting precious time. I don't know why I didn't say this as soon as you called it off with Louis. I mean, you obviously called it off because you're still in love with me" he said as if it were a fact, not needed to be discussed. Blair remained silent, continuing to stare at his fingers that were wrapped around hers. "We will always be in love with each other, even when we're trying to deny it. But we can't deny any longer Blair. We just can't, it's not right" he turned to look her in the eyes. With his other hand he swept hair out of her face, feeling nothing as his hand stroked her cheek. She still hadn't said a word. "Blair, aren't you going to say anything?" he laughed in his Chuck Bass way.  
>"I'm tired" she whispered and shook her hand off his. "I'm going to bed"<br>"Blair, wait" he called after as she walked towards the stairs. "Blair, you can't just go without saying anything" she was halfway up the stairs. "Blair!"  
>"Goodnight Chuck" she said. She continued her way up the stairs and saw Serena.<br>"Blair" she spoke softly, her eyes saddened after just witnessing the scene below.  
>"I'll speak in the morning" she said and went to her room. She laid down on her bed and pulled the covers over her, thinking of only one thing: Dan Humphrey.<p>

"Blair" Serena opened the door from their adjoining bathroom and sat at the end of her bed. "Blair talk to me. Why didn't you say anything to Chuck last night? I thought that would've been something you wanted to hear since you broke things off with the Prince. I thought he was the reason you did so" she stroked her chestnut locks. "Blair" she breathed again.  
>"There was a time when I was sure we were soul mates. I was absolutely sure of it" Blair sat up in her bed and Serena climbed over to sit next to her. Blair rested her head on her best friend's shoulder. "But last night I wasn't sure. I didn't feel it" she admitted.<br>"Blair, everyone knows you two are meant to be. You're Chuck and Blair!" she exclaimed, rubbing her friend's arm and smiled. "There's nothing to be unsure of, trust me" Serena reassured her.  
>Blair went to argue against it but she decided not to. She sighed and looked into her bright blue eyes that were sparkling with happiness at the thought of her best friend reuniting with the love of her life. "Maybe you're right"<br>"Of course I am" Serena giggled. "Anyway I'd better be off to class. And so should you for that matter. Go get dressed and we'll get a cab together"  
>Blair did as Serena told her. She got dressed and gathered her books. Before she left the room she looked into the mirror. Something about her didn't look right, she thought. She made her way downstairs and met Serena and together they made their way to class, Serena English literature and her art history. After class she sat on the quad, deep in thought.<br>"Blair" she heard her name called by a familiar voice. She didn't answer. "Blair" he called again. He went to sit down next to her. "Blair, are you okay?"  
>"Hey Nate" he turned to look at her childhood sweetheart in the face.<br>"What's the matter Blair?" he asked again. He thought about asking her about the date with Dan but decided not to.  
>"Do you think me and Chuck are soul mates?" she asked bluntly. Nate was taken back, he wasn't expecting this question.<br>"In all honesty, there was a time when I thought there were no two people more perfect for each other. You both just got each other, accepted each other. But now, I guess I don't think that anymore" he shrugged. He pulled a book out of his bag and Blair just stared at him. "He's hurt you too many times Blair. Times change, people change. And I don't think you two are the same Chuck and Blair you were two, three years ago. You deserve to be with someone who makes you happy Blair. And I don't think that person is Chuck anymore" he answered simply. Blair sat there and smiled. Nate told her what he thought, not what he thought she wanted to hear.  
>"Thanks Nate" she smiled at him.<br>"Anytime Blair" he returned her smile. "Want to go get a coffee or something?"  
>"Maybe another time" she said as she collected her things. "There's just somewhere I've got to be. Bye Nate" she hugged her old friend and hailed a cab.<br>When arriving at her destination, she smiled. She walked up those stairs, those familiar stairs, and waited outside the doors, the big rusty doors, before knocking. She soothed her nerves and took a deep breath and knocked three times. He answered the door almost immediately.  
>"I'm sorry" she said quickly and pulled him in to kiss him.<br>He was shocked at first. He did not see this happening at all. But he couldn't deny her affection and soon enough they were locked in an embrace. The smell of her hair made him smile and he could feel her smile against his. They were lost in the moment, their moment.  
>"Blair?"<p> 


End file.
